Roseanne Barr on career-damaging racist tweet: 'It was about anti-semitism'

Roseanne's latest: Tweet was about 'anti-semitism'

Author:
Maria Puente, USA TODAY

Published:
1:06 PM EDT June 14, 2018

Updated:
9:45 AM EDT June 15, 2018

Roseanne Barr at the Golden Globe Awards in January.

Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

The more Roseanne Barr "reflects" on her career-cratering racist tweet last month, the more confused she seems to get, at least according to her Twitter feed.

Barr has offered multiple muddled meanings for her tweet comparing ex-Obama administration figure Valerie Jarrett to an ape – it was the Ambien talking, she was clueless about Jarrett's race – but now she has a new one: It was about "anti-semitism," she claimed in tweets late Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Barr apologized abjectly but kept tweeting, trying to explain what she meant. She claimed she didn't know that Jarrett is black. She claimed she was clueless about the racist implications of her tweet, even though comparing a black person to an ape has been a racist trope for centuries. The reference to Muslim Brotherhood was confusing because Jarrett isn't a Muslim.

Now her new explanation is unclear. She started out confiding to her followers that she's been watching a new documentary about civil-rights leader Malcolm X directed by a friend, Thomas Muhammad.

"Thomas Muhammad has agreed to speak for me, as he knows the work I have done in civil rights against racism ALL MY LIFE & understands my tweet was about Iran's regime," she tweeted.

It wasn't clear what the Iran regime has to do with Jarrett, who is an American. She was born in Iran in 1956 because her father was working there but she was not President Barack Obama's adviser on Iran and didn't have a role in the controversial Iran nuclear deal. Moreover, Barr originally claimed she thought Jarrett was a "Saudi."

Barr did not stop to explain any of this on Wednesday. "I want u all2 know I'm fine. I've been using this time2 reflect &2 gain insight on what I said & how it was misunderstood.. Needless2 say I'm NOT what people have accused me of! I’ve never practiced "RACISM" in my entire life & never will," she declared in one tweet.

1) I want u all2 know I'm fine. I've been using this time2 reflect &2 gain insight on what I said & how it was misunderstood.. Needless2 say I'm NOT what people have accused me of! I’ve never practiced "RACISM" in my entire life & never will. Meantime...(next page)

Then she brought up Rod Serling, the author of "Planet of The Apes." That movie, she said, was about anti-Semitism. "That is what my tweet referred to - the anti semitism of the Iran deal. Low IQ ppl can think whatever they want," she said.

Rod Serling wrote Planet of The Apes. It was about anti-semitism. That is what my tweet referred to-the anti semitism of the Iran deal. Low IQ ppl can think whatever they want.

Except most film historians say the 1968 sci-fi film "Planet of the Apes" is a metaphor for racism, depicting an imagined world where apes have absolute power and apply it corruptly against humans, giving them a taste of what African-Americans experienced in 1960s America.

But Barr didn't mention any of that. Instead, she said, she's feeling better since her humiliating fall. "guys, I have been planting trees digging in the earth singing and feeling a great deal of relief. I will begin to speak for myself in media soon," she tweeted.

guys, I have been planting trees digging in the earth singing and feeling a great deal of relief. I will begin to speak for myself in media soon.

Barr extended her tweetstorm into Friday, retweeting a series of Iran-related tweets before sharing her own take.

"@POTUS bring peace and human rights to #Iran next?" she wrote, tagging President Trump's official White House account. "PRAY FOR THE PPL OF #IRAN AND LISTEN TO THEM!" she added in another post on the social media site.

After replying to a Twitter thread asking "what needs to happen to free people from oppression" in Iran, she shared a link from a far-right blog about President Trump, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Iran.

In between her Iran tweets, Barr continued her supposed truth-telling mission about "Planet of the Apes," sharing articles claiming to tell the truth about the movie.

"The movie 'Planet of The Apes' (my favorite movie) has a great subtext that is an accurate representation of class-race-religion intersections & juxtapositions," she wrote Friday morning.

As she explained in an additional tweet, Barr's days-long Twitter spree is just her attempt to expand the public's understanding of issues that matter to her.

Roseanne Barr attends the series premiere of "Roseanne" in Burbank, Calif. on March 23, 2018.
ABC canceled its hit reboot "Roseanne" on May 29, 2018 following lead Roseanne Barr's racist tweets about former Obama White House adviser Valerie Jarrett on Twitter.

Roseanne Barr attends the world premiere of the documentary: 'Roseanne For President!' during the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2015 in New York.

Roseanne Barr appears on stage at the Comedy Central "Roast of Roseanne" at the Hollywood Palladium on Aug. 4, 2012, in Los Angeles.

Michael Fishman, Roseanne Barr, and Alicia Goranson arrive at the Comedy Central Roast of Roseanne Barr at Hollywood Palladium on August 4, 2012 in Hollywood, Calif.

Roseanne Barr in a scene from her reality series, "Roseanne's Nuts" about her macadamia nut farm in Hawaii.

Roseanne Barr attends a signing for her book 'RoseanneArchy' in New York, Jan. 6, 2011.

The cast of "Roseanne" accepts the Innovation Award onstage during the 6th annual "TV Land Awards" on June 8, 2008 in Santa Monica, Calif.

Roseanne Barr and her son arrive at the Warner Bros. premiere of "Superman Returns" on June 21, 2006 in Westwood, Calif.

Roseanne Barr and actor John Goodman attend the DVD launch of "Rosanne: Season One" July 18, 2005 at Lucky Strike Bowling Centre in Los Angeles, Calif.

Roseanne Barr at her home in Roling Hills estates in Long Beach, Calif on July 28, 2003. Roseanne completed a reality show, the Real Roseanne Show, for ABC the network that made her a star.

Mistress of Ceremonies, Roseanne performs during the Lane Bryant Spring 2003 Intimate Apparel Fashion Show at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom on February 4, 2003 in New York.

Roseanne Arnold and John Goodman star as the Conners in the popular comedy series, Roseanne on ABC.

Tom and Roseanne Arnold match tattoos with host Joan Rivers during a taping of the "Joan Rivers Show" on Jan.18, 1993 in New York. Arnold wears a tattoo of his comedienne-wife, Roseanne wears a rose and Rivers sports a removable tattoo likeness of all three.

Roseanne Barr poses with her plaque award in front of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, Ca. on Sept. 25, 1992.

Roseanne Barr holds her fingers in her ears as she screams the National Anthem between games of the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds doubleheader on July 25, 1990 in San Diego, Calif. She was booed loudly and she made an obscene gesture and spat when she was finished.

Roseanne Barr poses at the Ameican Comedy Awards in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 19, 1987.

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Roseanne Barr attends the series premiere of "Roseanne" in Burbank, Calif. on March 23, 2018.
ABC canceled its hit reboot "Roseanne" on May 29, 2018 following lead Roseanne Barr's racist tweets about former Obama White House adviser Valerie Jarrett on Twitter.

Roseanne Barr attends the world premiere of the documentary: 'Roseanne For President!' during the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival on April 18, 2015 in New York.

05/18

Roseanne Barr appears on stage at the Comedy Central "Roast of Roseanne" at the Hollywood Palladium on Aug. 4, 2012, in Los Angeles.

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Michael Fishman, Roseanne Barr, and Alicia Goranson arrive at the Comedy Central Roast of Roseanne Barr at Hollywood Palladium on August 4, 2012 in Hollywood, Calif.

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Roseanne Barr in a scene from her reality series, "Roseanne's Nuts" about her macadamia nut farm in Hawaii.

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Roseanne Barr attends a signing for her book 'RoseanneArchy' in New York, Jan. 6, 2011.

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The cast of "Roseanne" accepts the Innovation Award onstage during the 6th annual "TV Land Awards" on June 8, 2008 in Santa Monica, Calif.

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Roseanne Barr and her son arrive at the Warner Bros. premiere of "Superman Returns" on June 21, 2006 in Westwood, Calif.

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Roseanne Barr and actor John Goodman attend the DVD launch of "Rosanne: Season One" July 18, 2005 at Lucky Strike Bowling Centre in Los Angeles, Calif.

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Roseanne Barr at her home in Roling Hills estates in Long Beach, Calif on July 28, 2003. Roseanne completed a reality show, the Real Roseanne Show, for ABC the network that made her a star.

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Mistress of Ceremonies, Roseanne performs during the Lane Bryant Spring 2003 Intimate Apparel Fashion Show at the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom on February 4, 2003 in New York.

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Roseanne Arnold and John Goodman star as the Conners in the popular comedy series, Roseanne on ABC.

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Tom and Roseanne Arnold match tattoos with host Joan Rivers during a taping of the "Joan Rivers Show" on Jan.18, 1993 in New York. Arnold wears a tattoo of his comedienne-wife, Roseanne wears a rose and Rivers sports a removable tattoo likeness of all three.

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Roseanne Barr poses with her plaque award in front of her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, Ca. on Sept. 25, 1992.

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Roseanne Barr holds her fingers in her ears as she screams the National Anthem between games of the San Diego Padres and the Cincinnati Reds doubleheader on July 25, 1990 in San Diego, Calif. She was booed loudly and she made an obscene gesture and spat when she was finished.

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Roseanne Barr poses at the Ameican Comedy Awards in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 19, 1987.